The Forest Belongs to the Night
by Trust-Me-I'm-a-Fangirl-96422
Summary: **A Ciel in Wonderland Fanfic** All Ronald wanted to do was get home after a long day of drinking tea with his friends Undertaker and William. The last thing he expected was running into all these other crazy creatures on the way home. And now he's lost. How could things get worse? Well...


**Maybe you guys should give up on me updating stories. **

**LOL JK PLS DON'T KILL ME I NOW HAVE A SCHEDULE FOR UPDATING STUFF.**

**You see, here's how it goes.**

**Those Reapers, Slumber Party: Updated every Monday**

**Dog Days: Updated every Wednesday**

**Flaw in Character: Updated every Friday**

**Now, this schedule starts next week, k? Because legit tomorrow's Monday and I can't crank out a chapter that fast. **

**Hopefully I'll stick to this and actually get stuff done.**

**And if I don't, PRESSURE ME, OKAY, I DON'T EVEN CARE ANYMORE, I JUST NEED TO UPDATE STUFFFFFFFFFF—**

***ahem***

**I don't know where this story fits yet, but I'll get it all sorted out. *thumbs-up* *death sign* *gangster peace sign* *ya ik im cool***

**Now for information that's relevant to this story. **

**I compose William's vocalizations preposterously verbose and superfluous with gargantuan terminology that only scholars of the uppermost gradation could fathom.**

…

**Exactly. **

**So, if you get confused or think 'what even is this' when you're reading things that William has to say, don't even worry about it. That's done on purpose. It's how he is in the anime. Forget about it.**

**Also, I've already started the second chapter, and don't quite have a tight leash on it, so maybe you could toss me a few ideas? Yeah? No? Okay. **

**(*cough* as if anyone will even read this story anyway *sob* *cough*)**

**Enough rambling. Go on and read the story, my good man/woman/entity in this universe. **

Daytime in Wonderland was strange enough as it was. With the Mock Turtle spinning, the Mad Hatter laughing, and the Soldier Cards darting around and successfully failing at tasks that the Red Queen gave them, it was all very hectic. By the time the sun was dipping under the horizon, most of the crazy Wonderland creatures were ready to succumb to sleep. Even the Walrus paused in eating oysters to go to bed for the evening. But, like every other world, there are the creatures of the day…

And the ones of the night.

The ones that needn't slumber, or ones that considered themselves nocturnal. These beasts that lurked in the dark were very dangerous if you were a lone Dormouse heading home to your den after a long day of, well… Sleeping.

Ronald could have chosen to stay at the Hatter's house until morning—the silverette had offered him the spare bedroom—but he politely declined, silently noting that he much preferred sleeping in his cozy little cottage rather than an old creaky one that swayed in the wind. Now, he wasn't so sure his choice had been right.

"What the bloody… Ugh…" Ronald grumbled, scratching at his twitching mouse ear. He stood at an intersection, feverishly looking between the two separate forks in the path. Four different paths… Which one was his house down again?

Groaning in aggravation, the dormouse took a seat on a nearby Rafflasia plant, irately crossing his arms and legs. Instinctively, his tail came around to curl up on his lap. He was still bitterly complaining about his crappy luck when something moved under him.

"Nya…~?" a tired voice mumbled. Ronald hopped up, an alarmed shout caught in his throat as the Cheshire Cat faded into existence right where Ronald had previously been sitting. Grell patted his mouth lightly as he yawned and stretched contentedly, tail swishing back and forth across the flower he was lying across. When his glowing eyes finally turned to the intruding rodent, his infamous grin spread across his features.

"Well, well, if it isn't little Ronnie~" Grell tumbled stylishly off his perch. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he had appeared behind Ronald, pink and purple tail wrapping delicately around the half-blond's shoulders and neck, the tip lightly tapping the other's nose.

"Grell, really, can you not do your teleportation thing around me? It's kinda freaky," Ronald shivered, feeling the feline's hot breath on the back of his neck. Thankfully, Grell considered Ronald too young to be his 'prey', but that didn't stop him from playfully seducing him from time to time.

"Meanie…" Grell mewed, nibbling on Ronald's gray ear. He removed his tail from around the young man and floated back a couple paces. By the time Ronald had turned to face him, Grell was lying lazily across a tree branch in a nearby tree, examining his fingernails through his gloves.

"What brings you to this deep, dark forest, then~?" the cat inquired slyly. "Especially at this time of night~ Isn't it past your bedtime~?"

"Well, uh, I'm just trying to go home," Ronald rubbed the back of his bi-colored hair, embarrassed, "but I got lost…"

"Lost, hm~?" Grell's chuckle came from somewhere deeper into the woods, somewhere to Ronald's left. "You know, I've always hated the roll of guide~ But… You're a sweet mouse, Ronnie~ I suppose maybe just this time, I could help you home~"

"Aw man, what's the price?" Ronald had grown to learn that if it seemed to good to be true, it probably was. Especially when it came to Grell.

"You know me too well," Grell purred, appearing directly in front of Ronald, his trendy scarf wrapped around both of their necks at once. Feminine fingers mischievously toyed with Ronald's bowtie. When Ronald impulsively took a step back, Grell rested his hands on the taller male's waist, digging his manicured nails into his skin when he squirmed. "You see, I want—"

An unexpected gush of water from Grell's right made the feline completely abort his mission, hiss, and disappear. The now-soaked-from-the-neck-up feline reappeared again up in a tree, whining loudly and wiping at his face.

"Honestly…" the March Hare 'tsk'ed, slipping a well-situated squirt bottle back into his inside coat pocket as he approached Ronald, who looked quite a bit flustered. "How many times must I remind you that it is not in your best interest as a rodent to be wandering around after night? Especially with the likes of _him_ around." William pointed his hedge-clippers up at Grell, who continued fretting over his make-up.

"Kyah~! You're so cruel, Liam!" Grell spat at the long-eared man. "Nn… My beautiful face…"

"How did you know I was out here?" Ronald interrogated, frowning as he tried to block out Grell's persistent voice. "You had already gone home by the time I left the Undertaker's."

"Undertaker contacted me after you left because he was troubled about your welfare," William replied stoically. "He desired for me to track you to insure your safety."

"Oh," Ronald sighed. "Well, do you know how to get back to my house?"

"Yes, of course," William readjusted his spectacles and turned around to point towards one of the four paths, but then he froze. His usually impassive features blanched. The paths had doubled; now eight paths stood with gaping mouths before the men.

"Seems like there are two little trapped rodents at my disposal now~" snapping shut the compact mirror he had been using to fix his make-up, Grell climbed down from the tree he had moved to. Keeping well out of reach of William's weapons—the death scythe and water alike—, he circled the two, stopping a few feet away to sit on his haunches and lick at his hand daintily. His gloved hand barely hid a mistrustful smile.

"Is this your doing, cat?" William snapped, referring to the multiplied paths. When Grell did nothing but chuckle and blink his lashes innocently, William sighed irritably, hare ears twitching. "Gracious, all I wanted to do this evening was have a quaint cup of Earl Grey and then retire to bed until morning…"

"Hey, Mr. Big-Words, you didn't have to come get me," Ronald glared away, crossing his arms testily. "I'm a grown man."

"And yet still as ignorant as a goldfish on its birthday~" Grell interjected, slinking over on his belly and curling up around Ronald's legs.

"Cats are so creepy," the Dormouse shivered, wriggling to get away from the feline's tightly wound grip.

"Or are you too easily frightened~?" Grell whispered, sharp teeth glinting in the moonlight.

"Enough," before Grell could leap out of the way or materialize elsewhere, William's death scythe grabbed ahold of Grell's scarf. He yanked upward so that the cat was dangling above the ground and making choking noises.

"G-gah! P-put me down, you—nya!—fiend!" Grell hissed, thrashing around and tugging and clawing at his scarf. Ronald shied away from the Cheshire's flailing limbs, wary of being hit.

"Not until you concur to escort the two of us to Knox's estate or at the least to a satisfactory shelter in which we can sleep at ease until the sun rises," William demanded in a flat tone.

"Fine!" Grell choked out, whining noises coming from his throat. William gave a nod of approval and withdrew his scythe, letting Grell crash to the ground. There, the Cheshire rolled onto his back and dramatically let his tongue loll out of his mouth.

"You huuuuuurt me…" the cat whimpered softly.

"Up," William prodded Grell in the ribs with the handle of his weapon. Grell grumbled something about cruelty as he stood up and brushed imaginary dust from his shoulders.

"Okay, darlings~" Grell announced, tugging uncomfortably at his scarf, "I suppose we should get going before the forest shifts again~"

"Wait, the forest does what?" Ronald interrupted, glancing around in an uneasy manner.

"Shifts. Moves. No path ever leads to the same place twice~" Grell answered coyly, twirling around on the tips of his high heels.

"I suppose you hold some sort of knowledge about how to maneuver this place, correct?" William inquired, keeping an eye on the frolicking feline.

"I was born here, love," Grell materialized in front of William, rubbing his nose against the taller man's one. "Except for the short time I lived with Duchess Soma, I've lived here all my life~ Of course I've picked up on a thing or two~"

"Then lead the way," Ronald yawned. "I'm getting tired…"

"Oh, Ronnie, you're always tired~" with a pat on the dormouse's head from behind, Grell turned and sashayed his way down the far left path, tail raised elegantly in the air. Ronald gave William a questioning look, silently double-guessing his choice to follow the cunning Cheshire.

However, William shared no such uncertainties as he promptly followed the fading red and pink figure into the darkness. Ronald quickly scurried after them, not wanting to be left alone.

As soon as the trio left the small clearing, three separate pairs of glowing, red eyes peered after them through the dense foliage. A few, nearly inaudible whispers were exchanged before they faded backwards into the surroundings without a sound.

**Mmm, you like dat cliffhanger, huh? Yeah, I know you do. Unf.**

***cough, cough, COUGH* **

**Okay, sorry, um.**

**This story will have so many of my personal headcannons and I even added a few Kuroshitsuji II characters to the wonderful world of Ciel in Wonderland.**

****yes u crazy fangirls this means claude and his peeps and even a few other miscellaneous characters that deserve a good mention****

**But no OCs.**

**Sorry.**

**But yeah. Hope you stick along for this ride instead of leaving me to suffer by myself with my few reviews ;-;**

**Please review.**

**You have no idea how happy reviews make me.**

**Like you don't even.**

**I fangirl over your reviews, ok.**

**Even flames.**

**Because at least someone took the time to notice me.**

**SENPAI, NOTICE ME, BLARGH—**

**I need a name for you loyal followers.**

**I think I'll call you…**

**Lil Baby Grell Peeps.**

**c:**


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